Yoga Restrictions After Tummy Tuck?

Yoga does extensive strengthening and stretching of the abdominal area.  A tummy tuck has separated the skin and fat of the abdomen from the underlying muscles, repaired the muscles and then  replacing the skin flap back down after trimming off the excess.  This skin flap must reattach to the muscles.  Too much activity too soon can prevent this healing and lead to problems.  4 - 6 weeks would be the bare minimum to wait before resuming yoga but a safer time would be 6 - 8 weeks.  When restarting yoga, begin slowly and be prepared for your abdomen feeling tight and hard to stretch.  Over time, as the tissues relax, you will get back to where you started from.

That portion of the abdominoplasty that takes the longest to heal is the muscle repair.

I ask my patients to wait 8 weeks before beginning any kind of workout - I really don't think the muscle repair has the needed tensile strength much before that.

Even at 8 weeks, however, you will have some fatigue and tightness, and you should expect to work gradually back into your routines.

Thanks for the question. After 4-6 weeks your surgery area is totally healed and yes you can doing Yoga and also do other activities. I wish you all the best.

Thank you for your question! For my patients having a tummy tuck procedure, I recommend they take 10 days off of work, 3 weeks off of cardio at the gym, and 6 weeks off of weight training and yoga exercises. There are no restrictions after the 6 weeks mark, however I always recommend listening to your body and easing your way back into your previous work out routines. Best of luck!

After 6 weeks you should be fine to start yoga, but start slowly and gradually increase. You should get clearance from your surgeon who knows you best. Good luck.

You should be able to do yoga once you've allowed yourself that 6 week wait after surgery and if your recovery has been going well, although you should start off slowly and build up as to not cause damage. For better advice, please ask your surgeon.

All tissues require at least 6 weeks of healing time to reach maximal strength so that you can practice your yoga or other strenuous activities.   This goes for skin, tendon, muscle, bone, etc.   Sometimes, individual healing rates can vary depending on your overall health status.   By 4-6 weeks, you are definitely getting close, but check with your surgeon to make sure that your abdomen and fascia have healed to the extent necessary for the additional pressures of yoga.    Premature strain on your tissues can lead to complications and reoperation, which of course, you want to avoid!

Normally I explain to every patient that a tummy tuck will require 6 weeks of no strenuous exercise because it will potentially cause problems with swelling.  You want the area to be well healed prior to increasing your heart rate such that it can make additional swelling.  This applies to yoga as well.  The gradual return to normal activities is fine as long as you wait this amount of time.  Otherwise you could see more swelling than is expected in teh recovery phase of an abdominoplasty.

Best Wishes

Many yoga poses are quite a strenuous abdominal workout. I ask my patients to refrain from yoga, abdominal crunches and sports that involve a lot of twisting motions (golf, tennis, etc.) for 12 weeks post-op. This allows time for the muscle repair to heal solidly.
All the best,

Postoperatively, you must refrain from strenuous activity for at least to six weeks.  Your PS will advise you when you can start practicing Yoga again.